Subaru of America President and CEO
Tom Doll was on his way to a speaking
engagement in 2013, thinking about the
state of the company. It was holding its
own against its 30 closest competitors. The
brand had amassed a loyal customer base
and developed a reputation for supporting
causes important to Subaru drivers.

Through programs like Share the Love, an
annual event during which Subaru donates

$250 per car purchased between mid-November and December 31 to various
charities, the company has generated more
than $118 million in donations between

2007 and 2017.

START WITH A GOAL

Doll began thinking about how Subaru
could make a bigger difference in the world.

He had often talked about the “human
footprint”—the impact that people have on
others’ lives through daily interactions. From
their grocery store cashier to their boss,
people can have a positive or negative
effect on others; it’s a choice. It was then he
realized the tidal wave of love and positive
impact the enormous network of Subaru
retailers could put into motion nationwide.

“The goal was to make every interactionwith Subaru a positive one—not just indonations, but in actions rooted in loveand respect that help the people in theircommunities,” Doll says. “We wanted tobecome a positive force in the communitieswhere we live and work, simply because itis the right thing to do.” After a few meetingswith team members, the Subaru LovePromise was born. The idea was simple:Empower the retailer network to get involvedand do good works in their communities,helping people or causes in need.

“We work in an industry where millions
of dollars are spent like it’s nothing,” Doll
says. “But you give these local, hometown
charities $15,000 or $25,000, and to them
that’s life-changing money. They’re so
efficient, and it really makes a difference.”

LOVE IN ACTION

The results are remarkable. In June 2018,
the team at Subaru of Bend, in Bend,
Oregon, raised nearly $42,000 to support
Grandma’s House of Central Oregon. This
shelter gives homeless and transitional
pregnant women and mothers with young
children a safe place to live. In addition to
the funds, owners, managers, sales staff,
and customers showered the mothers,
babies, and children with gifts.

In February 2018, when the team at North
End Subaru of Lunenburg, Massachusetts,
found out that nearby Sterling Animal
Shelter was going to receive more than

200 pets in one week, they took action
immediately. After getting a list of needs
from the shelter’s manager, employees
and customers filled two Subaru Foresters
with supplies for the pets in need. The
dealership remains a drop-off center for
supplies that are donated to the shelter
and new pet owners.

In addition to supporting charities that
address environmental issues, education,
pets, healthcare, and their communities,
Subaru retailers are making a difference
in individual lives. One of Doll’s favorite
stories is about a young man in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, who was part of a
group that vandalized some of the cars at
Schulte Subaru. Video surveillance helped
the police to find the group. The retail
location owner’s compassion led him to
offer one of them a job. Today, the young
man remains a valued employee.

“That’s the Subaru Love Promise in action,”
Doll says. “The most surprising thing to me
is that we’ve taken a business that is about
selling and turned it into a business where
we pride ourselves on giving. Our retailers
are actively looking for ways to make their
communities better. And once you start
doing that, it’s hard to stop.”
Learn more at subaru.com/love-promise.

HEALING
COMMUNITIES

ONE ACT
AT A TIME

With the Subaru Love Promise,
the car company is taking a
stand in an age of divisiveness.

INC. BRANDED CONTENT / SUBARU

“We believe in
investing in our
communities,”
says Tom Doll
(left), President
and CEO
of Subaru of
America.

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